Improvement in combined seeder and grain-drill



Etait/ed tant me naar.

Letters .Pc-,tent N 95,789, dated October 12, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN COMBINED SEEDER ANDG-RAIN-DRILL;

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesam To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY A. GASTON, of Stockton,"in San Joaquin county,and State of California, have invented a new and useful ImprovedCombined Broadcastjand Drill Grain-Seeder; and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact descn'ption of theconstructionand operation of the same, referencebejng had to the annexed drawings,making a part of this specification, in whichv Figure l is a top or planview of Amy machine, with its relief-board e, its comb c, and itsrotating shafts removed from the interior of the bin A.

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical section of my machine, showing an endView' of a smaller broadcast seedfsower, c, in the rear ofand attachedto the main bin A, and also showing one of a. series of hollow ironlflnkes,a1d a leversuspeluling thesame, and also showing a frame xofwood, surm'ounted with a twopronged lever,'for controlling the system offlukes,

and regulating the depth at which their points P plow' through the soil.

Figure 3 is a central vertical sectional vewof one the fiukes.A Figure 4represents a small square-headed screwbolt, which I use .for fasteningthe Ysteel or cast-iron point P upon the projecting foot of the flukej'.

Figure 5 shows the form of the-steel point P before it is bent orreceives its double mould-board form for its place on the fluke f. Thisis perforated, and has a female screw cut through it at o, for thereception of the bolt t.

-The same letters and incidental numerals refer to llikepart-s of themachine in all the figures.

Those parts of the machine which are made of wood are outlined incarmine, and those of iron .in ink.

A represents the main bin.

B, the axle, perforated at the ci-rcles, for discharging the grain.

. C C are end bed-pieces of the drill-attaclnnent, and extend frombeneath the axle forward.

l D is the front cross-bar of the same attaclnnent, and is halved on orotherwise attached to the tongue T, and connects O,- T, and C. A

E is a central cross-bar connecting C, T, and C, and supports upon itsupper surface, and upon each side of T, the controlling levers Landtheir arms y, and upholds from its lower surface the fluke-levers b.

S S represent heads or bars attached to the arms xy, and rest, either intheir front or rear, upon the flukelevers b. These move np and down asthe upper end of the levers l are moved forward or back in oppositedirections.

P represents a small steel or cast-iron point, which, when the drill isin use, is attached toA and terminates thefluke f, by means ofthe smallbolt t, fic. 4, and is curved in the form of' a double mould-board. Thispoint P rests firmly in the recess below g, and upon the projection 'iin fig. 3.

3l and 32, with the representation'of wires driven through them,represent the rotating shafts, which extend as'one shaft from end toend-of and within the bin A, and arevrotated by small pinions, driven bythe spur-gearing seen at each end ofthe bin.

The divisions F, F, F, Sto., are double inclined planes,

their summits meeting at the centralline drawn be` tween their ends.These I place beneath the rotating or oscillating shafts, and above theslide-valves, which rest upon the .,axle, so that their bases terminateat the discharging-orificesthrough the axle, and of the slidevalves whenfully open. Atthei'r centres they fill the space between the shafts andthe slide-valves, and they conduct the grain down their planes to theorifices of the slide-valves in such a manner that no seed is left inthe bin A or c unsown. g

41 and 42 represent small shaftsfor the smaller bin a. These I oscillateby means of arms extending from their outer ends, which project throughthe ends ot' the bin, to the 'end of which arm I attach a pitmanloosely, the opposite end of which pitman, I propelvby and move upon aspur or pivot extending outwardly from' the small pinion Vabovementioned.I

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and. operation more minntely;first, premising that the drawings given may be taken as on a scale -ofone-eigh th ofthe average size-of the machines which 1 am nowconstructing.

I constructmy bin, relief-board, comb, rotating or oscillating shafts,scatter-board, slide-valves, and the 'main body of my machine inaccordance with the plan and description given in my Letters Patent, No. 83,624, dated November 3, 1868, with this difference, that I dividethe rotating or oscillating shafts at their-centres longitudinally, assecnbetween 32 and3, and between 42and 41, and permitting their innerends to rest in a central bearing in their bins. I rotate or oscillatethem by gearing or pitmens'attached to their outer ends.

By this novel arrangement, when turning around at the end of a field, mymachine sows the grain on thathalf'l of it, toward the revolving wheel,the same as while crossing the field, while towa-rd the other wheel,which is being turned less, less grain is sown, by which perfectuniformity of sowing is secured as wellaround four or six wires in themanner represented at the numerals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, of shaft 3*, andinto the oscillating shafts I also drive fouror six, as seen at thenumerals l, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, of 42. v

By this novel arrangement I cause the wires to sweep the grain andfseedto and fro over the discharging-orifices, and to press it th'rough themwith perfect regularity, and in exact proportion to the velocity of theteam or moving power.

The teeth in the comb are necessarily but three in number to leachdischarging-orifice, one of which I pla-ce centrally, to divide each setof four or more fingers .above each discharging-orifice. The arrangementof the teeth in this novel contrivance is seen iu the rear of fig. 1,between the bin A and theshafts 3l and 32.

The object of this contrivance is to prevent the ngers of the shaftbecoming clogged by straws, and to pick apart and to separate grain,which adheres in mass through the useot lime or other substances.

The wiresl, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, are called fingers.

rIhe wires ofthe comb are called teeth.

Having described my drill so far, which up to this point, with itsseveral parts named, is a broadcast-seeder when desired, I attachbeneath the axle B and the tongue Tthe novel frame-work C E D, whichwill be understood readily by the plan shown and the scale lgiven.

Centrally between the tongue T and the bed-pieces C upon the cross-barE, or under E,and extending thence upward, by curving the same to thedesired height, I place the novel governing-lever l, the lower end ofwhich rests in the fulcrum m, and from this lever I extend the novelarms a either or both, which terminate at andare attached to the novelhead-bars S. These head-pieces I provide with slots or guides on theirvunder sides, into which the upper' edges of the fluke-levers b extend,and by this novel contrivance not only-is the depth of the point P inthe soil regulated and determined at the will of the operator, but theflukes f, which are attached to the rear ends of the levers b, whichlast I suspend in the fulcrums m1 fm?, are guided also, and kept indirect line.

I make my tlukes in the novel manner or form shown in lig. 3, sharp andcutting in front, as shown from the lower lug to theangulardepression atg, and provid- 1 ing within the tube, at or near its rear lowerextremity, the novel protuberance seen at x, and terminating the lowerend of the fluke with novel foot-like projection seen at i This last Iperforate with a slot seen at o, to receive the small screw-bolt t, lig.4, which passes upward vthrough this` slot,` and screws into the novelcast-iron or steel point P, and attaches the same firmly upon theprojecting foot of the linke.

The point `P constitutes a small doublemould-board,

which, slightly raising and dividing the soil, turns it both ways fromthe body of the fluke. Its. material is determined by the soil in whichit is required to work, sandy or otherwise. Its rear end rests in theangle seen between g and i, while its point, which enters the soil at avery acute angle, raises it suciently high to receive beneath ,it thegrain, which, as it descends within the uke, is thrown forward, by theprotnberance a, beneath the point P, which, passing, the soil closes inupon, and securely covers the grain. s

The lower end of' the linke, from its front to its centre, constitutes acontinuation of the mould-board I), v

'while it will be seen the oiiice of the sharp edgeof the fluke is topresent as little resisting surface as possible to the soil throughwhich it moves, and to prevent its being clogged.

At k, between the two lugs of the fluke, I provide a novel stop, whichprevents the flap q from closing back further than desired towardthesu'ke f.

I attach my tubes, which lead from the dischargingoritices into theflukes f, first to a separate piece of thin board, the holes throughwhich, and through the tubes, correspond with and make a continuation ofthe holes through the axle, and this board, either in one or two parts,I screw upon the under side of the axle; By this novel contrivance Iconvert the drill into'a broadcast-seeder, by removing this light boardand its attached tubes from the axle, and attaching the scatter-boardunder the axle, and cioe versa.

I determine the position of my levers 1and consequent pos'it-ion of myflukes, by the novel ratchet 1*,.01' a similar contrivance. Y

The levers l are within convenient reach of the driver, who rides upon aseat over the centre of the bin.

What I claim as my invention, andv desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The oscillating or rotating shafts,ivhen constructed and operatedsubstantially as andfor the purposes above described. p

2. The comb C, combinedwith the divided shaft 31 32 in such manner thatthe teeth of the former may pass centrally through the tingers of thelatter, as and for the purpose described.

3. The frame O E D, in combination with the lever l, arms 'l head-barsS, and linke-levers b, all arranged and operating substantially as setforth.

4. The governing-levers l, and their arms y attached to the head-piecesS, substantially as and for the purpose above described.

5. The sharp-edged iluke f, with its internal projection x, and also itsfoot-like projection 11,' and its stop k, constructedsubstantially asabove described.

(i. The iiuke f, provided with the foot-like and slotted projection 4o,and angular depression g, and combined with the point P, in the manner,and for the purpose specied.

7. A graindrill, constructed and operated substantially as abovedescribed. 4

HENRY A. GASTON.

WVitnesses:

` CHARLES H. SANFORD,

SULLIVAN C. CASE.

